This application claims the priority of German patent document 100 46 832.2, filed Sep. 20, 2000 (PCT International Application No. PCT/EP01/09946, filed 29 Aug. 2001), the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for registering travel data of a motor vehicle with an electronically actuated drive train.
German patent document DE 42 20 963 A1 discloses a vehicle navigation system which is used to estimate or determine the location of the vehicle, to register the occurrence of an accident and to store information for use in the analysis of the accident.
An accident data plotter is disclosed in German patent document DE 195 09 711 A1. Data which characterizes the events surrounding an accident is to be stored in a data memory that is embodied as a toroidal core memory. Data for the acceleration, speed, position and correction which are actually supplied by the motor vehicle during travel are stored at least temporarily.
German patent document DE 19546815 A1 relates to the storage of data exchanged by control units over a data transmission line during operation of a control system of a motor vehicle. At least some of the registered data and/or the data transferred over the data transmission line may be stored for later evaluation.
These known devices make it possible to register those actual travel actions which are carried out by the vehicle, as well as the time, location and travel direction for each. However in the case of an accident, for example, this permits only an insufficient analysis of the origins of the accident, as the presence of operator control error by the driver or error in the vehicle system cannot readily be deduced from the stored data.
One object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a method and apparatus for registering travel data of a motor vehicle, which helps to increase the safety of the vehicle and traffic.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system that permits improved accident analysis.
These and other objects and advantages are achieved by the method and apparatus according to the invention, in which a storage device is coupled to driver operated control elements for generating activation signals for influencing the drive train, and to an actuation device for activation-signal-dependent generation of actuation signals for the drive train. The storage device is designed to store at least temporarily the activation signals and the actuation signals.
In the case of an accident, this arrangement makes it possible, for example, to reconstruct in a particularly simple way whether a driver-end operator control fault or a fault in the electronic actuation of the drive train has led to the accident. For this purpose, the data can be registered with, as it were, a classification into three levels. In the first level, the data are registered on the signal path from the driver via the operator control elements, and as far as the actuation device. In the second level, the data are registered on the signal path from the actuation device as far as the drive train. In the third level, the actual travel data of the motor vehicle which is actually carried out is registered.
In order to provide a possible method of intervening in vehicle control that is independent of the driver or supports the driver, the storage device is connected to a sensor-based assistance device for generating intervention signals that electronically influence the actuation device of the drive train, and is designed to at least temporarily store the intervention signals. In this way, in the case of an accident, conclusions can be drawn about faulty inventions by the assistance device.
The assistance device can interact with a navigation device, such that the intervention signals can be determined by means of position and/or direction presettings thereof, and autonomous or partially autonomous interventions can be satisfactorily reconstructed.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a vehicle-internal transmitter device which is in contact with the vehicle-external receiver device is provided for transferring the actual vehicle data, position data, activation signals, actuation signals and/or intervention signals. Further data processing can take place at the vehicle-external receiver device, permitting the travel data to be evaluated and collected remotely from the vehicle.
The activation signals which are generated by the operator control elements comprise at least speed, position and travel direction signals which are input by the driver. The intervention signals which are generated by the assistance device comprise at least speed, position and travel direction signals which are preset by the assistance device. The actuation signals comprise at least set point speed and position signals and travel direction signals which are generated by the control device. The actual vehicle data which are determined by the sensor device comprise at least actual speed and position signals, as well as travel direction signals. From these movement data it is easily possible to describe precisely the origins of an accident by means of position, speed and direction of the motor vehicle.
The invention also provides a method for registering travel data of a motor vehicle with an electronically actuated drive train. Accordingly, the driver of the motor vehicle presets his drivers' request by means of corresponding data control inputs, as a result of which corresponding activation signals are generated. The activation signals are converted into actuation signals for the drive train as a function of the drivers' request. The actual vehicle data relating to the travel dynamics and position data representing the position of the vehicle are determined. The activation signals, the actuation signals, the actual vehicle data and/or the position data are stored at least temporarily.
The method according to the invention makes it possible, for example in the case of an accident, to reconstruct in a particularly simply way whether the driver-end operator control fault or a fault in the electronic actuation of the drive train has led to the accident.
According to one advantageous embodiment of the invention, the surroundings of a motor vehicle are sensed with respect to the travel situation, in particular in the events on the road that cause intervention signals which trigger travel actions due to the travel situation, and which are converted into corresponding actuation signals for the drive train. The travel-situation-dependent intervention signals are at least temporarily restored.
For an evaluation which is remote from the vehicle, the driver-end activation signals, the travel-situation-dependent intervention signals, the actuation signals for the drive train, the actual vehicle data and/or the position data are transferred to a vehicle-external function unit for further data processing.
The activation signals which represent the drivers' request can be stored as a first movement vector, while the driving-situation-dependent intervention signals can be stored as a second movement vector. The actuation signals can be stored as a set point movement vector and the actual vehicle data can be stored as actual movement vector. Representing the travel data in movement vectors has the advantage of providing clearly organized and easy to handle representation.
In the case of an accident, the stored data can also be read out into a movement vector representation. For further external data processing, the movement vectors can also be transferred to a vehicle-external function unit.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.